AWS and Google Cloud Forge Unprecedented Multicloud Networking Alliance
December 3, 2025
In a landmark move that signals a strategic shift towards greater interoperability in the cloud industry, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud have announced a partnership to simplify multicloud networking. This collaboration addresses a critical pain point for enterprises that increasingly rely on multiple cloud providers to avoid vendor lock-in, optimize costs, and leverage best-of-breed services, but face significant complexity in connecting them securely and efficiently.
The initiative, announced on December 3, 2025, involves the integration of AWS’s multicloud connectivity service, AWS Cloud WAN, with Google Cloud’s Cross Cloud Interconnect. The core of the partnership is a jointly developed open specification for network interoperability. This technical foundation aims to abstract the underlying physical complexities, such as cross-connects and routing policies, that have traditionally required weeks or months of manual configuration by customers and their partners.
Robert Kennedy, Vice President of Network Services at AWS, described the collaboration as "a fundamental shift in multicloud connectivity." He emphasized that the new standard, with high availability and security built-in, removes the heavy lifting for customers. "When they need multicloud connectivity, it's ready to activate in minutes with a simple point and click," Kennedy stated. The solution utilizes MACsec encryption between edge routers for security, with both cloud providers continuously monitoring the network.
Rob Enns, Vice President and General Manager of Cloud Networking at Google Cloud, highlighted the operational benefits, noting the collaboration "enables our customers to move their data and applications between clouds with simplified global connectivity and enhanced operational effectiveness." Unlike other multicloud models, such as Oracle’s approach of deploying its hardware in partner data centers, this AWS-Google Cloud solution does not involve deploying physical servers in each other's facilities. Instead, it creates a virtualized, software-defined interconnection layer.
The partnership is poised to accelerate enterprise adoption of hybrid and multicloud architectures by drastically reducing deployment time from months to minutes. It also represents a competitive maneuver, applying pressure on other major players like Microsoft Azure to demonstrate similar openness or risk being perceived as a less flexible option in a multicloud world. By co-developing an open standard, AWS and Google Cloud are attempting to shape the future of cloud networking, moving the industry away from walled gardens and towards a more interconnected ecosystem.
Source: datacenterdynamics
